Proceedings of the Constructal Law Conference 2011, Porto Alegre, Brazil

WHY NATURAL SYSTEMS ARE THE WAY THEY ARE?

A. F. Miguela,
a

ABSTRACT
Design configuration, architecture, shape, structure, pattern, rhythm is omnipresent in nature because all things have a design. According to Adrian Bejan the generation of design (configuration) in nature is a phenomenon that can be based on a principle the constructal law. Is this law of design real? Does it belongs to the world or merely reflect the way we speak about it? In this paper, I argue that this law of generation of design (configuration) plays a significant role in the thermodynamics. Systems performance is strictly connected with the possibility of their morphing configuration, permitting that the new configurations replace existing configurations, to perform better (to survive). All scientific efforts are based on the existence of universality, which manifests itself in diverse ways and scales. The manifestation of the constructal law at different scales is also reviewed. Keywords: natural systems, configuration, architecture, shape, structure.

University of Evora

Department of Physics & CGE Rua Romao Ramalho, 59, 7000-671, Evora, Portugal, afm@uevora.pt

NATURAL FLOW SYSTEMS RECOGNIZED QUALITY OF DESIGN

AND

The beauty and the design of nature were accepted by natural philosophers (Crowe, 2007). For centuries we have looked to nature for examples of how to improve the design of man-made systems (Fig. 1). This is because living systems are wonderfully adaptable and can survive in a complex natural environment. The identification of animals as streamlined bodies with applications to manufactured devices for drag comes from Renaissance period (Laurenza, 2005; Miguel, 2007). Leonardo da Vinci recognized the importance of the relationship between design and function. He noticed that a fish could move through water with little resistance because its streamlined shape allowed the water to flow smoothly over the afterbody without prematurely separating (Guillen,1996). Da Vincis flying machines powered by man were drawn in the 1490s based on the observation of birds (Laurenza, 2005). In the seventeen century, Borelli together with Robert Boyle, Ren Descartes, Niels Stensen and others, were founders of an important intellectual movement known as iatromechanism (Hall, 1969). According to Thomas Hall (1969) For Borelli, living bodies are machines. The life of the machine is the totality of movements exhibited by the moving parts and by the machine as a whole. The whole machine is an assemblage of smaller component machines. Borelli (1680) also attempt to copy animal characteristics in a submarine design. Buoyancy control was based on the swim bladders of fish and propulsion control was obtained by oars acting similarly to paddling feet of geese or frogs.

Figure 1. A birds and a flying machine. The adherence to biological principles and designs for an enhanced performance influenced different areas of knowledge and last until today (Bejan et al., 2009; Miguel, 2010). The slogan form follows function became the tune of modern architecture (Sullivan, 2008). This idea influenced the organic architecture of Frank Lloyd Wright and follows. In modern engineering, the idea was also to use biological inspiration to engineer machines that emulate the performance of animals. This biomimetic 1 approach (Bar-Cohen, 2005) attempts to seek solutions for increased efficiency and specialization because consider that living systems have already performed the cost-benefit analysis (i.e., optimizing specific design for particular functions) due to process of natural selection. Not long ago, scientists have designed an electronic camera that can mimic the shape of the human eye for improved imaging (Charles, 2008). This design prevents the distortion that normally occurs at the edges of such flat lenses. The designs exhibited by natural systems may be target for technology transfer and to reduce the time of development of innovative solutions. Although, strict adherence to these designs is not
1 The term "biomimetics" was conceived by Otto H. Schmitt in 1969 from bios meaning life and mimesis meaning to imitate (Sarikaya and Aksay, 1995). Other term that is often used is biomimicry. Biomimicry has been put forward as a method of working that seeks sustainable solutions by emulating nature's patterns and strategies ( e.g., a photovoltaic cell inspired by the structure of a leaf)